From the NYT: Does Exercise Help You Sleep Better? Maybe, maybe not.
[T]he most practical advice that science can offer at the moment about exercise and sleep is not to fret too much about whether you’re getting enough of either. Worrying, as the Swiss study showed, is what will keep you awake long into the night.
A European twin study finds the desire to exercise runs in the family–deep:
Using complicated statistical formulas, the scientists concluded that differences in exercise behavior were about 60 percent attributable to genes. In other words, your parents influence your decision about whether to be active, not just by signing you up for soccer camp when you’re a kid but also by bequeathing you a genetic urge to work out — or not.
Here’s a quick interview with Dr. Vijay Vad, author of “Stop Pain.” He suggests exercise for chronic pain. Not quite on the stress illness bandwagon, but in its neighborhood:
I have seen a big explosion in chronic back pain and arthritis, and what I realized is that people have very limited self-help options. In the medical system, unfortunately, many health care providers do what they are trained to do. They push you into prescription medications which have side effects or suggest tons of medical procedures.
A study says exercising for just a little bit–but outdoors, in nature–is good for mood and well-being.
Green areas with water added something extra. A blue and green environment seems even better for health…From a health policy perspective, the largest positive effect on self-esteem came from a five-minute dose.
A study shows exercise decreases anxiety in people suffering from chronic illnesses. Ill or not, try testing out the difference between a day with exercise and a day without. Exercise usually equals less worry, more sleep. From the L.A. Times:
[I]f you exercise regularly, you will likely feel much less anxious — regardless of the status of your illness. In a study published Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers analyzed data from 40 studies on how exercise affects anxiety. All of the 3,000 study participants were sedentary individuals who had chronic illnesses but were still able to exercise in sessions of at least 30 minutes…
